05/17 - 05/20 - 4th Annual Delta/Bay Extravaganza

Dora~Jean · Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 5:33 pm Post subject:

Hi all, got back late last night -- rained the whole 400 miles home, hoped the boat would be sparkling by then, no luck -- still muddy (from the road), nats and bugs from the trip, etc. Oh well. Oh, reminds me of a little joke I tell when an admirer asks me how fast she goes...I show them my Windex bottle -- have to wipe off the bugs after every trip!

Had a great time, a little adventure mixed in always makes it more 'memorable'. Like Roger said, stayed an extra day at the duck club, tough place to stay over (thank you John and Robin!) -- striper fishing, pot lucks, BBQ fish, nature walks, BBQ fish, mallards everywhere, otters, BBQ fish, get the picture? We were hoping to continue the intinerary Friday morning, no dice, high winds (20-30 kts) and big whitecaps on the Sac. River. Took a vote, all but one decided to turn back to Rio Vista (18 miles) and branch out from there. I decided to plug towards the bay and see how far I could get before throwing in the towel. Made it to within a couple of miles from the bay (another 15 miles from duck club). Water smoothed out, winds settled to 10-15 about 5-8 miles from Benecia Marina, pulled in, got a slip, called the group. They took another vote (very democratic these C-Dory people...!), 4 decided to join me (Pounder, Discovery, Salty-C's, Seabran), we were able to get 4 more slips, not together, but at least on same dock. Seabran turned back after a few minutes, waves just too nasty to battle for next couple of hours. 6 brave souls (3 boats) continued, water smoothed out last 5-8 miles just as it had for me. Was bitter-sweet to not have the whole group together, but as it turned out both groups had a good time separately anyway.

Toured Angel Island next day, picture-perfect weather, smoothest crossing of San Pablo Bay I've ever experienced, then on to Oakland to marina near Jack London Square and the reservations that Jim/Kathy made.

Great trip, great company, great food. Thanks Jim and Kathy (Pounder) for all the planning, reservations and gift packs. Too bad on the weather, under someone else's control. Thanks also to Joel and Susan for the goodie packs, made good use of the munchies while slogging through the weather. An adventure several of us won't forget for awhile!

My puter is acting a bit sluggish, needs some cleanup I suspect, then will add some photos to the album.

DaveS · Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 5:34 pm Post subject:

lloyds · Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 5:39 pm Post subject:

I guess I know which boat I would choose to fish from.

Jim Gibson · Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 12:57 am Post subject:

Dear All:

Thank you for coming to our 4th Extravaganza. As always, it was unpredictable and spontaneous.

Hopefully, there was something for everybody on this trip, and challenging for most all of us. We sure were tired when we got home.

We did not realize until later how great it was to be away from the paper, Internet, TV, and radio for 5 days (all of which can be a constant assault on your senses). These trips are a lot of work for everyone, but they usually force all of us into the moment, and provide some small sense of marine wildness in our lives, along with mandatory relaxation.

We wish to acknowledge the following individuals.

1. John and Robin, thanks again for allowing us the use of your special Duck Club for the 3rd year in a row. This is the highlight of the trip for most everyone
2. Joel and Susan, thanks for the creative captain’s bag. Most fun and original
3. Ron, thanks for Nat’s cookies. They were great as always. Also thanks for your computer assistance on the weather forecasts
4. Roger and Steve S., thanks for catching our subsistence fish dinner on Thursday night. Your fish were superb. Steve S., thanks also for scouting on to Benicia, if not for you, three other boats would not have been able to complete the second half of the originally planned trip
5. Brent and Dixie, thanks for the wonderful job of cleaning the fish and so expertly cooking them for everyone on Thursday night
6. Sam and Kerry thanks for the early morning coffee and Danish, and for your consistent enthusiasm throughout the journey
7. Steve B. thanks for your special food contribution for the spontaneous pot luck on Thursday night and for your heroic lone efforts on trying to join us at Benicia
8. Mike, thanks for showing up your 4th year in a row!

As always, it is not the destination, it is not the journey, it is not even the C-Dory’s that count, but rather it is the people that make these trips so special. Kath and I always say that you cannot not find a better bunch of folks on the Internet anywhere! Everyone did a fantastic job of pitching in on this Extravaganza and making it all happen.

It always blows me away when we go to Angel Island, like it happened again this year, as soon as the Yachties come over on their shinny expensive large vessels, the first thing they always want to do is see our flotilla of cute little small boats and try to understand why we are having so much fun.

This virtual yacht club lives on. We are already looking ahead to our next C-Dory adventure.

Discovery · Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 12:40 am Post subject:

Hi everyone,

We just made it home from our extended trip from the Extravaganza--via Seattle. We left Discovery at the factory for a little warranty work before our next voyage (San Juans and Gulf Islands for 2 months beginning the end of June).

A special thanks to Jim and Kathy and everyone else on the adventure last week on the Sacramento and Bay. It was a super trip with a bunch of super people. Every SBGT that we have attended has been great and this was just as fun. This was especially good because we renewed old friendships and made new friends.

We are looking forward to cruising again and would welcome any C-Brats to join us in the San Juans.

Brent and Dixie

Salty-Cs · Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 12:41 pm Post subject:

What an excellent adventure! We just returned home from a few days at Lake Isabella...a diversion on the way down the 5 Fwy (certainly not the same as cruising with y'all on the Delta and SF Bay). Just uploaded a few more pictures to the cruise album.

Had it not been for recent changes in our lives, we would not have been able to break out of our time-limited boating bubble. Jim and Kathys' enthusiastic ability to adapt to unforseen circumstances truly added to the experience. Can't wait 'til next year!

Dora~Jean · Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 12:26 am Post subject:

Sam and Kerry, was sure great seeing you again, been 'hiding' far too long...

Maybe it was just my situation, but for whatever reason it sure seemed like we had much more quality time to sit and talk and really visit with one another. Maybe it was having the cruise SHIP Discovery that made it so easy, or maybe it was the slightly less than perfect weather that kept us around our boats more. Heck, maybe it was the "chillable red wine"? Laughing

Whatever, it was sure a pleasure to meet new friends (via the Internet as Islander Ron pointed out) and catch up with old friends.

I'm ready for August at Catalina and maybe some fishing and diving in-between.

Sealife · Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 7:39 pm Post subject:

Sam & Kerry,

I agree....even though I had to leave early, I really had a blast bombing around the island on that ATV. Every year I've attended it's been different.

Tell us more about Lake Isabella. We have been kicking around doing a gathering there. Is it big enough for cruising? Fishing? Camping/moorings?

C-Hawk · Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 8:44 pm Post subject:

Lake Isabella is plenty large enough for cruising. I have been considering going there, also.

Been awhile since I was there, but I do know the winds come up rather suddenly at times. Gets hot in the summer. Fall might be a good time to go.

There is plenty of fishing. A few campgrounds, French Gulch comes to mind as it has a marina.

Lake map

Lake Isabella online

There is a $45 annual fee per boat for the lake.[/url]

Salty-Cs · Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 9:19 pm Post subject:

They planted salmon in the lake a few years back and now it is apparently OK to harvest...if you have the prerequisite skills...I might need a bit of tutelage. I posted a pic of the lake in the gathering album from our second day.

Sealife · Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 10:28 pm Post subject:

Roger,

Visited their site that you linked and the rates are lower than what you said. $30 annual, $10 for a three day pass. Looks like a great place for us to visit.

C-Hawk · Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 10:27 am Post subject:

The Lake Isabella informatin has been moved to a new thread for Lake Isabella

Dora~Jean · Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 5:18 pm Post subject:

Fishtales, Islander, Seabran and Sea3po, didn't hear where you guys ended up staying and doing Friday night, Saturday and Saturday night? I know you all got an early start back Sunday. Like to hear and photos if you have any...

SeaSpray · Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 1:30 pm Post subject:

Okay, something from the group that stayed in the Delta:

Friday was fairly mellow at the docks in Rio Vista. As Jim said Pounder, Salty-Cs, and Discovery headed out for Benicia some time around noon. We watched as they headed down river and it was rough! We could see the spray going completely over the boats.

We basically just relaxed at the dock until late afternoon. We had made tentative plans to go up the Sacramento to Lock for dinner. After talking with Jim on the phone who was now in Benicia, Karen and I decided to head out for Benicia. I expected the conditions to get better because the current would be changing and the wind was down considerably. The ride was not too bad until we got past Pittsburg.

As we got into Suisun bay it looked like I could see a breaking wave about a mile ahead. I thought it must be a big wake from a boat. As we got out into the bay we had to slow from our 10 to 12 knts down to 6knts. The waves were steep with white caps. It was a turn-around point estimating that it would be about as long to go on pounding through this mess or turn around and have a quick trip back. So we elected the more fun ride back. We would have like to go to the bay but we can do that another time when it is more comfortable. When we got back to Rio Vista the others had gone to town for dinner and we had a very pleasant evening at the dock.

On Saturday we decided to make a trip up the Sacramento deep-water channel to Steamboat slough. This would lead us to the Sacramento river and we could go down to Walnut Grove and have lunch at Lock.

This was a very relaxed and scenic cruise. Is was a very nice low 70's with flat water in the sloughs. The only hazard was watching for the occasional tree branch floating in the water. I have been on most of the delta but this was the first time to visit Steamboat slough.

At the start of the slough we watched as a small truck was pulled up the levee back to the road. The driver was very lucky when he went off the road and his truck stopped just a couple feet short of plunging into the slough. People are killed almost every year when they drive off the levee roads into the water. I did not get pics but I think others did.

It was a fun ride and we had lunch at the funky 'Al the WOP's' place. The current was really cooking as we docked at the public dock in Walnut Grove and walked to Lock. Maybe some of the others have pics of the buildings in Lock.

Karen and I had a great time on the trip, I learned more about handling my boat in rough water, and we enjoyed meeting new people and see others again.

( I only have a few pics to post)

Steve

Dora~Jean · Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 2:32 pm Post subject:

Thanks Steve, great to hear what 'the other half' did, sounds like you had an equally relaxing and good time together. Yea, that front must've went through on Friday, and totally unexpected to get smooth water and low winds closer to the bay at Benecia. Next day picture perfect just like you had at Rio Vista. You're way TOO modest on the photos, great job, thanks!